Fiscal Facts-4549

Published June 3, 2010

In an effort to help the Williamson County community better understand the budget and the budget process, IN FOCUS has launched a special feature called Fiscal Facts.  The purpose of this section is to answer any questions you might have, or rumors you may have heard, regarding the 2010-2011 budget.  Simply EMAIL your questions to us and we will respond to them in upcoming issues of IN FOCUS.

Since our last issue of IN FOCUS, we received one question regarding the budget:

After reading the IN FOCUS newsletter, I was wondering if the cost of health coverage for teachers will be going up this year?

The Williamson County Board of Education pays for health insurance coverage in its budget through a funding mechanism recommended by Williamson County General County who administers the plan.  The county uses these funds to pay health insurance claims.  For the 2009-2010 year, they requested that the district budget $7,500 per person to fund health and dental insurance claims.  For the 2010-11 budget year, they requested that the district budget $8,500 for these claims.

The cost of insurance to the employee is not a part of the budget that the Board pays.  The cost of the insurance to the employee is determined by a premium that is established on a January à December basis.  The employee cost has always increased slightly for employees each January based on this calculation.  Also, the WCEA teacher contract addresses the amount that the employee could pay for family coverage.  The WCEA contract currently allows up to 20 percent to be borne by the employee for family coverage.  To date, the county does not assess this amount, but charges a smaller percentage amount for family coverage.  Individual coverage is not assessed to the employee.